Healing the Wounds of River Song
by deathgrowsmyjasmine
Summary: And once again, he catches her.


The Tardis was standing still. Berlin had been nerve racking for all of them, emotionally and physically. They had left River in the hospital, not the woman they knew and loved yet, but on the way to become her.  
>Love. Such a big, big word, even for the Doctor, who travels through all of time and space, the mad man in the blue box. He was leaning against the console of the Tardis, low light throwing a shadow over his face. The experiences of Berlin had shown River in a way he never wanted to see her; brainwashed and trained to kill him; and young, oh, so young. But then she sacrificed herself, gave up her immortality for him, the man she will love, loves, and loved. It was almost too much for him.<br>He had been in love before, but it felt different this time. It was someone who was equal to him now - a Time Lord, a child of time and space, raised as a warrior. River was fascinating, and the Doctor got bored very easily; this woman never failed to grab his attention.  
>Although he knew it was not her fault, it hurt him that River had not known him. But even as her younger self, and at an opportunity where he had the advantage of knowing what is going to happen in her future, she let him know that she was the one in charge, and left him as an insecure teenager, able to keep up and even outsmart him. To be fair, he was fairly new in the ''relationship-with-River'-business'', and he had managed to kiss her without too much confusion (yes, it was only a peck and the second time he was half dead - small steps, okay?). After all it was a lot to-<br>BANG.  
>Something hit the door of the Tardis. BANG. Again! The Doctor rushed to the blue front door, better check what exactly was attacking the Old Girl, and with a dramatic swing it flew open, revealing an absolutely unexciting little forest in the middle of nowhere in Spain, not having moved away from where they had parked for the night.<br>Maybe the day just had just been too long.  
>With a sigh he let the door fall close behind him, heading towards his room, when something hit his back, hard enough to make him gasp. In a heartbeat he turned around, only to be nearly knocked out by a little blue box that was already taking a run-up to go for him again. ''STOP!" With a smooth movement the Doctor caught the message to prevent it from smashing his face, and it didn't even give him a second to look at it.<br>''DOCTOR! DOCTOR!"  
>''River?" It was clearly her voice sounding out of it.<br>''Quick, start up the Tardis, just let her fly herself, she will know, and open the door! Quick!"  
>No time for questions. He drooped the dice and ran up to the console, hitting buttons like a madman, the blue box moved, and resisting his reflex to tell her where to go, he sprinted back to the front door; they were flying over a city, too fast to make it possible for him to tell where, only fires and collapsing buildings could be seen in the chaos of the town that probably had had calmer nights. And then there was lots of curly hair and woman coming in, knocking him over and leaving him on the floor of the Tardis.<br>River ruggedly landed next to him. ''Hello Sweetie! Thank- ouch. Thank you."  
>''River! What were you thinking? How often did I tell you that I cannot catch you every time?" The Doctor clumsily got up, a bit dizzy from hitting his head on the hard metal floor.<br>"And how often do I have to tell you that you are _so_ wrong?" She sat up, moving slowly. ''I am hurt. My side... I slit it open when I slipped on my way up the roof. I don't think I can get up."  
>''Oh, come here, girl, what have you done. Always getting yourself into trouble, don't you? Hold on." He kneeled down next to her, gently picking her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, biting her lip when he accidentally touched the wound. ''Ow, I am terribly sorry, let's see, let me put you..." He walked down the corridor, River's face buried between his shoulder and head (which he quite enjoyed, but that really wasn't the moment to think about this, focus, fooooocus), until a door close to them swung open to reveal a room he had never seen before: Comfortable, but simple, with a bed and bookshelves, a sofa with a table and dark, wooden floor, a big window (although he knew it was only showing a projection of outside, not really their environment)and a door leading to another room. ''Thank you, Dear! Okay River, here we are, careful..." He slowly let River down on the bed.<br>''Oh, Doctor, I have only just arrived, and we already landed here? Not that I am complaining."  
>The Doctor couldn't help but smiling, but his eyes turned dark when she inhaled sharply. ''Let me have a look at this... do you mind if I...?" He sat down next to her on the bed and gently rucked up her top that was covered in blood and dirt stains.<br>The sight of the wound interrupted any distracting thoughts: It was an awfully deep cut, not bleeding heavily anymore, but already surrounded by a dark blue bruise. It spanned all over her left side and must cause pain with every movement. ''It's nothing. I will be okay, just let me rest for a bit."  
>''Blimey, River, you won't be okay, this needs to be stitched up or something. You can tell me what happened later. I will go and wake up Rory, I am back in a second, don't move, I mean, just... I will be back in a minute!"<br>''No, Doctor, really. It's nothing, I-" His finger on her mouth put her to silence.  
>''This is not the time to be stubborn and silly. I will be back in a second." He placed a peck on her hair and ran out of the room, leaving River alone. She wondered whether the Doctor already knew this was their room, but from the reaction to her exposing a bit of skin it seemed to be pretty early times for him. He was trying hard to hide his nervousness, but she had learned to read him over the time. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. It was one of the paradoxes of their relationship that she could miss him although he was around. She heard the steps of two people coming closer, and the Doctor, carrying a white box with a red cross and her black bag she left in the console room balancing on it, brought with him a really sleepy Rory in boxers and an old t-shirt. He rubbed his face, muffled something like a greeting, had a look at her side and started rummaging about in the box the Doctor put down. It included all kinds of things (mainly stolen from a hospital) to treat smaller and bigger wounds and other injuries they received from their adventures – running with the Doctor did not always go without consequences.<br>"River, I will have to stitch that. It's a nasty wound, how did that happen?" Rory kneeled down next to the bed, taking a closer look at the wound.  
>"I was climbing up the roof of a house, and well, I was in a hurry, slipped, and scratched along an edge.''<br>The nurse sat down where the Doctor had sat earlier and sighed. "Having you as a daughter is a nightmare. Well, this is not going to be nice without anaesthetic, but there is no way around it, I fear... Hang on, let me get you out of this shirt, it's in the way."  
>"Uhm, yeah, I will just leave then, don't want to invade your-"<br>"It's okay Doctor, I don't mind. Nothing you haven't - wait, never mind, but nothing you won't -"  
>"Hello! PARENT IN THE ROOM!" Rory was not used to the fact that River was his daughter yet, but he still did not need to know what the Doctor would see or had seen of her. "Just stay in here, I want to go to bed, and I am not going to wait until you have finished discussing this."<br>"Fine."  
>"Fine!" The Doctor swallowed. It was just a shirt, after all, right? She was wearing underwear under it. No big thing. At some point he will see her without underwear, even! But no, no, no wrong direction.<br>Rory helped the woman out of her shirt, just like a father would with his little girl, leaving her in a black bra. The Doctor was sure he usually would have appreciated the sight more than he wanted to admit, but the gaping wound made it hardly enjoyable.  
>"Okay, disinfection first, this may sting a bit.''<br>The Doctor was leaning against the wall, watching River biting her lip when Rory cleaned the deep cut. He slowly walked over to the bed, sitting down on the other side of the double, and gently stroked her hair (secretly hoping Rory wasn't paying too much attention).  
>"Okay, I will try to be quick... Try to move as little as possible, okay? Then I can work faster."<br>It still took long, and it was hard to watch for the Doctor; although she was trying hard not to show it, River winced from time to time, but kept silent.  
>"That's it. Be careful with it, River. I'd like you to stay on the Tardis for a few days, until we can remove the stitches. If that is possible? No adventures for a while, did you hear me?"<br>River nodded. "Thank you. Sorry for getting you out of the bed."  
>"Oh, don't be silly. I will get up for my daughter any time." Rory gave her a loving smile. "Good night. Sleep well, River. Night, Doctor." The door snap shut behind him, leaving the two of them alone.<br>"Well then... hello River." The Doctor had pulled his hand away when Rory finished stitching, and moved back to the edge of the bed.  
>"Hello Doctor." River smiled.<br>"Come on, let's get you dressed properly." He pushed himself up from the bed, avoiding to look at her.  
>"Aw, Doctor, that's not what I usually hear from you..."<br>(No blushing. River and things adults do are no reasons to blush at. Get clothes for River. Clothing.) "I am sure the Tardis has something to wear for you. I'll get it."  
>She pointed at the other door. "Have a look there. There is a big cabin in the bathroom."<br>"Bathroom? And how do you know..."  
>"Spoilers."<p>

The Doctor sighed and disappeared in the adjoining room. It was fairly large, dominated by a large tub on a pedestal and a screen next to a big black cabinet. A huge (yet another fake) window revealed a bright night with a sky covered in stars.  
>The cabinet opened with a little squeak. He chose a simple button shirt that was on the first hanger, and walked back towards the door, when a bowl next to the sink grabbed his attention. "Thank you, Old Girl." He smiled and filled it with warm water, grabbed a small white towel from the shelf and took everything back to the other room.<br>River hadn't moved away from the bed.

"I am back, I figured you might want to clean yourself, and I guess a shower isn't a very good idea with that suture..."  
>"Oh, thanks! That's very considerate of you. I must admit I got a bit dirty."<br>He placed everything on the bed stand and smiled at River. "Well then... I suppose we can talk in the morning. I'll leave you alone now."  
>"You could just stay with me, you know. You look tired, and you need sleep."<br>"Well, I could just go and sleep in my room?"  
>"We both know perfectly well that you will just fiddle with the Tardis instead of sleeping. You never allow yourself to rest. So you are staying here, and you will sleep a bit. Or at least relax."<br>"But I am not-"  
>"No, you are staying here. End of discussion, Sweetie." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but give in. (It was also hard to win an argument against River in underwear. He will stop thinking this now. Definitely.)<br>"Fine."  
>"Fine." She made the towel wet, trying not to turn too much because of the wound, and started rubbing her face. The Doctor was unsure what to do, and awkwardly stood around; the situation was a bit surreal. He commanded himself to sit down on the sofa that was standing a few steps away from the bed, took a random book out of the shelf and pretended to read. There was something soothing about the process in front of him, something strangely intimate. Their relationship was complicated, timey-wimey and exciting – it was just the beginning for him. Maybe that was the reason she liked to have him around tonight; she knew it was going towards the end for her. And to be perfectly honest, he didn't mind her company that much. She finished washing herself, threw the towel back into the bowl and reached for the shirt. It was too far away for her arm, and the Doctor stood up.<br>"No, it's okay, I can get it, hang on..." River made intentions to get up, and winced.  
>"Stop that, you will just hurt yourself, silly." He grabbed the shirt from the table and gave it to her. "Wait, River, there is still something on your face..." He took the wet towel, wrung it out and sat next to her. She smiled when he gently rubbed off a bit of mud from her forehead. "Soo... all cleaned up!" He helped her into the shirt, and although he was aware she could do that herself, did the buttons for her.<br>"Thanks. Let's get down to business, shall we? My diary is in the bag you brought with the first aid box." He got up and picked the little black bag up from the floor, where it had been lieing unnoticedly during the whole time. He gave it to River, who took out the blue book. "It's easy this time. We are just back from Berlin."  
>"Ah, I remember it well. But that was out of our usual timeline, wasn't it? How could I ever forget..."<br>"Oh River..." He sat down on the edge next to her. "You really shouldn't have done this." The Doctor looked at his hands in his lap. If she only knew.  
>"Doctor, look at me. Look at me. I would do it again, in a heartbeat. Don't you ever think it was a mistake, don't you dare. You are the reason I am who I am. It always had to be this way. Our lives are entangled, and I wouldn't want to have it any other way."<br>"I feel so bad, River. You could have had a whole Time Lord life, centuries! And gave it all for me. And I am scared, and happy, and excited, and nervous, and all confused inside. I like you very much, but this is still so new for me. And I sound like an idiot. Sorry about that." He took the little blue book out of her hand and put it back on the bed stand. He didn't feel like comparing, and she let him; it was not the moment to worry about spoilers.  
>"Oh, shut up. You know, when I was young, I knew a man, a strange man with a blue box... and I was scared, and happy, and excited, and nervous, and all confused inside."<br>"Really? What happened to him?" He smiled at her.  
>"Another story that can't be told but has to be lived, I fear."<br>The Doctor chuckled. "I can't wait to find out."  
>"Oh, you will!" River grinned mischievously. "Say... what have we done yet?"<br>He gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean, done?"  
>River rolled her eyes. "You. And I. How far have we gone?"<br>"Ohh!" The Doctor played with his suddenly incredibly interesting sleeve, avoiding the woman's curious look. "Uhm, you know, we... well, you, I mean, we... well you remember Berlin, don't you? And yeah... it happened before once." He awkwardly shifted a bit away from her, nearly falling off the bed.  
>"Sweetie," she sighed, torn between amusement and being annoyed, "can you please be a bit less vague?" She should really stop enjoying his awkwardness, but it was just too funny to watch.<br>"The whole... kissing business." The Doctor's face turned a flattering shade of red.  
>"Aw, is that such an unpleasant thought for you? What a shame." Breathing in sharply, River pushed herself up to lean against the wall.<br>"No, no! It's not! I... like it. Very much so. And you, stop moving so much."  
>"I am fine, Doctor. Really. Stop worrying."<br>"There are blood stains all over my Tardis! I certainly won't stop worrying!"  
>"Oh, please!" River rolled her eyes. "I don't think she minds, she likes me! But fine, I will try to avoid bleeding next time I am injured."<br>"Hmph." There were a few seconds of silence. "That was not what I was worried about, silly." He shyly put his hand on hers.  
>"I know you don't." She closed her eyes for a second. He would never be straightforward with gestures like that, but that just made them so much more important. "This is our room, you know?"<br>"Doctor Song, did I really just hear a spoiler from you? Breaking my rules?" He gave her a wide grin.  
>"Well, I thought you were clever enough to figure that out. The Tardis did a good job with hiding it from you until today... so I guess it's okay. She knows what you are allowed to see." The Tardis hummed in agreement.<br>"Women!" He rubbed his face, feigning desperation. "As soon as you wander off to have some adventures, they gang up on you."  
>"Well, there are quite some adventures you can have here, too, Doctor."<br>"Now that," he chuckled and bent over to her, face to face, "was a horrible pick up line!"  
>"You loved it, didn't you?"<br>And then he was kissing her, lightly, for the first and the last time it was him kissing her, a sweet, careful kiss, and there was curls and emotions and River; and maybe time stood still in this tiny piece of the universe, the room of two impossible time travellers who never had enough time.

Half an hour later the silhouette of two Time Lords could be made out in the bed, her back to his chest, his arms around her, carefully avoiding the wound.  
>He smiled in his sleep, and so did she; two time travellers, holding onto each other through future and past.<p> 


End file.
